Shloka 35
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
तं चेन्न यजसे राजन प्राप्तस्त्वं राज्यकिल्बिषम् | येषां राजाश्वमेधेन यजते दक्षिणावता
taṃ cen na yajase rājan prāptas tvaṃ rājyakilbiṣam | yeṣāṃ rājāśvamedhena yajate dakṣiṇāvatā ||
O König, wenn du das Opfer nicht vollziehst, wirst du die Sünde auf dich laden, die an der Herrschaft haftet. Denn um der Untertanen und der von ihm Abhängigen willen vollzieht ein König das Aśvamedha, reich an den vorgeschriebenen Gaben, damit königliche Macht als anvertrautes Gut ausgeübt werde—gereinigt durch Pflicht und Freigebigkeit, nicht befleckt durch bloßen Besitz.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal authority is not morally neutral: if a king enjoys sovereignty without performing the purifying and welfare-oriented duties of rule—symbolized here by yajña and generous dakṣiṇā—he incurs rājya-kilbiṣa, the ethical taint of kingship. Sacrifice functions as a public act of responsibility, redistribution, and self-restraint.
Arjuna addresses a king and warns him that neglecting the prescribed sacrificial obligation will bring the fault associated with kingship. He points to the Aśvamedha, performed with abundant gifts, as an exemplar of how kings traditionally discharge their duty toward those for whose sake they rule.